Peter 1AvatarPeter I was born on the night of May 30 (June 9, New Style) 1672 in Moscow. He was the 14th child of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, but the first from his second wife, Natalia Kirillovna Naryshkina. On June 29 of the same year, the tsarevich was baptized in honor of the holy apostles Peter and Paul. After his father’s death in 1676, Peter’s guardian became his half‑brother, Fyodor Alekseevich. He was taught to read and write by the clerk Nikita Zotov, but the tsarevich did not receive a systematic European education. Until the end of his life, Peter wrote with mistakes. From an early age, Peter showed a penchant for military affairs. For games, he formed “toy” regiments from his peers, which eventually developed into serious military‑practical training. From these regiments, elite guard units — the Preobrazhensky and the Semyonovsky — later emerged. The tsarevich also became interested in the navy: in 1688, he discovered an old English boat, ordered it to be repaired, and this event became the starting point for the creation of the Russian fleet. Peter was married twice. His first marriage was to Evdokia Lopukhina (1689); in 1698, after the Streltsy uprising, he forcibly had her tonsured as a nun. This marriage produced Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, who criticized his father’s reforms, fled to Europe, was brought back to Russia, arrested, and died in 1718. His second marriage was to Catherine Alexeevna (Marta Skavronskaya); in 1724, she was crowned as empress. The couple had daughters: Anna and Elizabeth (the future Empress Elizabeth Petrovna).
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